When Wayne Slater showed up at the Georgetown Parks & Recreation office to vote, he brought his city utility bill with him. Although this is an acceptable form of voter identification, the poll worker asked to see his driver’s license instead.

“This is what I’m giving you for identification,” Slater told the volunteer.

Slater, a columnist for the Dallas Morning News, wrote how the volunteer insisted that “we prefer a voter registration card or a driver’s license,” even though federal judges prevented immediate implementation of the law requiring voters to show government-issued ID cards at the polls.

It wasn’t until another election worker intervened (and after the first volunteer mis-typed Slater’s name into the system and incorrectly told him he wasn’t a registered voter), that Slater was allowed to cast his ballot.

The columnist’s close encounter caused quite a stir among Democrats, who fear that it is a harbinger of Republican attempts to disenfranchise eligible voters.

A poll worker checks a voter's photo identification against computer records during early voting. (AP)

“With less than one week to go before Election Day, it is disconcerting that there have been reports of poll workers incorrectly advising voters on the requirements to vote,” said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, the San Antonio Democrat who heads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

After reading Slater’s column, Gonzalez wrote a letter to Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade demanding that she protect the voting rights of all Texans.

“We have repeatedly urged you to prepare and to work with county election officials to ensure that poll workers were properly trained and voters fully informed of the facts,” he wrote. “Now our concerns are proving only too well founded.”

Rich Parsons, the director of communications for the Texas Secretary of State’s office, said that in Slater’s case, the system worked properly.

“The reporter, who I guess was attempting to test the system…I believe they said he used a utility bill, which is an approved ID and he was allowed to cast his ballot,” said Parsons.

In response to Gonzalez, Andrade wrote:

“Obviously, our office has gone to great lengths to make sure that election workers and voters across the state know all of the acceptable forms of identification for voting in this election. Please be assured that this Office, as well as county election officials from all over the State, have been well trained in the current law on identifying voters.”

“No, the system did not work properly,” Gonzalez retorted in an interview with Texas on the Potomac. “We had someone insisting on a specific type of identification rather than the one provided by the voter. A less sophisticated voter would have turned around and left.”

Gonzalez said that the initial refusal of the poll worker to accept Slater’s utility bill could have been “someone just didn’t know the law and it was an innocent mistake or someone knew the law and was going to impose their own preference as opposed to what was legally accepted.”

“That is not a choice or the prerogative of the poll worker, and that’s what really bothered me,” Gonzalez said. “Why wouldn’t the poll worker know that Mr. Slater was absolutely right?”

Gonzalez said Andrade called to say her office would send a memo to all local election officials to clarify that there was no preferred type of legitimate ID.

“We have communicated the procedures many times this year to election offices around the state, and we’re happy to do so again to make sure everyone has the information they need to hold a successful election,” said Parsons.

Parsons said Texas has 13.65 million registered voters this year – a record number for the state.

“Our goal is to make sure those 13.65 million voters cast their ballot in a fair, accessible, and secure election,” he said.

“The constitutionally protected right to vote is too important to allow misunderstanding or misinformation to keep any Texan from voting,” said Gonzalez.

Parsons advises voters who are waiting until Tuesday to cast their ballot to double check their precinct and voting place, which has changed for some people due to redistricting. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST.